William F. Nolan
and
The Armchair Detective
by Tim Sinniger - January 28, 2001
William F. Nolan has been a fan of The Armchair Detective since the beginning and he has been a contributor to Armchair Detective for over 25 years. Started by Alan J. Hubin in 1967 and continued on in the 90s by Otto Penzler this quarterly magazine became one of the most influential magazines of the mystery genre until its publication ended in 1996.
William F. Nolan's articles, profiles and letters contained within the 35 issues listed here have been a major basis for his landmark work in the field studies of the "Black Mask Boys" and other writers in the field of mystery and hard-boiled crime.
With the release of his Science Fiction classic "Logan's Run" co-written with George Clayton Johnson in 1968, and his popularity in that field on the rise, it is remarkable that Nolan would find the time to start writing to, and for, The Armchair Detective on such a regular basis.
It really is quite simple though. William F. Nolan has always had an enduring passion for mystery and suspense, and especially hard-boiled crime detectives. One of the earliest Nolan pieces in my collection is a copy of the Kansas City Journal from 1939 where Nolan had his first published artwork "Hawkshaw the Detective." This original artwork from Bill appeared in the "Childrens Section."
His "Bart Challis" detective novels "Death Is For Losers" and "The White Cad Cross-Up" are proof of his love of the hard-boiled detective, and shortly thereafter he developed the Science Fiction/Hard-Boiled detective Sam Space, a hard-nosed detective based on Sam Spade (of course) in his award winning series "Space For Hire" and "Look Out For Space." He has also written profusely about "The Black Mask Boys" as well as fictionalized them as characters in his novels. He also credited with writing the first full-length study on Dashiell Hammett.
And you thought he just wrote Science Fiction...
The Armchair Detective
[M17] = the corresponding entry in "The Work of William F. Nolan - 2nd Edition," a must for any serious William F. Nolan collector.
Although some of the entries listed here are for letters he wrote to The Armchair Detective, don't be fooled. These letters constitute some of the best biographical and bibliographical work of the day!
Contains Nolan's letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) pages 105-106. This letter deals in detail with Bill's work on his book "Dashiell Hammett: A Casebook." [M17]
Contains Nolan's letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) pages 153-154. Gives for the first time a complete bibliography of Dashiell Hammett's "Continental Op" series. [M18]
Contains Nolan's article "Of Hammett, Chandler, Brand and Bradbury - And An Eye Named Challis" (1st)) pages 86-87. Also contains Bill's letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) pages 128-129, regarding Frederick Faust and several of the Black Mask Boys. Also present is a classified ad for Bill's book "Dashiell Hammett: A Casebook" (1st thus) page 107. Bill also placed an ad in this issue under "Book Exchange" requesting information on books he is looking for (1st) page 135. [F90] [M20]
Contains Nolan's letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) page 204. This is a general letter regarding the passing of Anthony Boucher. [M21]
Contains Nolan's letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) page 278. A general letter regarding the content of the April 1969 issue. [M22]
Contains Nolan's letter article "Chandler On Screen, TV, and Radio- With a Look at the Many Mr. Marlowes" (1st) pages 23-24. Also has his checklist "A Raymond Chandler Film/Radio/TV Checklist and Bibliography" (1st) pages 24-26 and his "The Nolan Mystery Checklist" (1st) pages 26-27. Also contains his letter "FromWilliam F. Nolan" (1st) page 44 dealing with Ordean A. Hagen's "Who Done It" book offering additions, subtractions and alterations. [F99] [F100] [M23] [V14]
Contains Nolan's "Hammett: A Reaction Report" (1st) pages 162-163. Deals with Bill's book "Dashiell Hammett: A Casebook" and contains reviews of his book by several authors and publications. This item is not currently listed in either the 1st or 2nd edition of TWOWFN. Also contains a letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) pages 208-209. His letter discusses Robert Easton's book "Max Brand: The Big Westerner" and also Dashiell Hammett.[M25] [V?]
Contains Nolan's letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) page 281. Discusses his "Challis" novels. The interesting part of this letter is the title of his next Bart Challis novel "The Marble Orchard," which of course was never published. Bill did use the same title though for one of his "Black Mask" books over 25 years later. [M26]
Contains Nolan's profile "Carroll John Daly: The Forgotten Pioneer of the Private Eye" (1st) pages 1-4. Also contains Bill's bibliographies "The Books of Carroll John Daly" (1st) page 4 and "Material Relating To Daly" (1st) page 4. Also contains a letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) page 67 which takes exception with Bob Briney's negative letter about Bill which appeared in Volume 3, Number 3 of The Armchair Detective. [D112] [F108] [F109] [M27]
Contains Nolan's article "The Crime/Suspense Fiction of RayBradbury" (1st) page 155. Also contains Bill's letter "From WilliamF. Nolan" (1st) pages 188-189. This is a long letter that covers several topics and authors such as Carroll John Daly, Ross Macdonald, Raymond Chandler and Ed McBain to name just a few. [F111] [M29]
Contains Nolan's letter "From William F. Nolan" (1st) page 251. A general letter discussing his new book "The Human Equation" and the mingling of crime and science fiction writing. [M30]
